Pirates keep their bullpen strong with Grilli
By Drew Shetler
It is being reported on mlb.com that the Pittsburgh Pirates have reached an agreement to bring back 36-year-old righthanded pitcher Jason Grilli. The deal is for two years at approximately seven million dollars.
Grilli was drawing interest from plenty of teams. The Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox were all reported to have interest in the righthander. This is a huge deal for the Bucs as it is the first time in a long time that a player has turned down a higher payday to come and play for them.
This is also big news for manager Clint Hurdle as he keeps a key piece to his bullpen. Last year Grilli boasted one of the best strikeout rates among all big league relievers, with 90 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. Grilli’s fastball reached an average speed of 94 mph.
But Grilli maybe in a different situation when the 2013 season begins. The Pirates have been shopping closer Joel Hanrahan around and if they can accomplish a trade, it looks like the Pirates have their new closer.
But whether it be the eighth inning or the ninth inning it will be good to see Grilli in a Bucco uniform.